Harry Potter and the Search for Redemption
by Frankenstein's Monkey
Summary: It's my first fanfic so don't be too harsh. RR
1. The Results

A/N- I just want to say that I haven't finished writing. I've barely even started so don't expect any updates any time soon.  
  
Harry Potter and the Search for Redemption  
  
Chapter One  
  
Harry Potter looked out of his window. He had the displeasure of spending at least some of his summer holidays with his only surviving relatives, his less-than-encouraging aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, every year. However, this year there were several improvements. Towards the end of last year Harry's cousin, Dudley, had been discovered with cannabis in school and consequently had been expelled before he could take his GCSEs, which were kind of like the Muggle equivalent of O.W.L.s. This had not gone down well with the Dursleys at all, far from being treated like a cherub sent directly from heaven, Dudley was now seen almost as more of a curse on the family name. Harry's lot had also been improved by regular contact with his wizarding friends. And so our story starts here, half way through our young hero's holiday, when what seemed to be a small, feathery ball flew directly into Harry's nose.  
  
"Hello Pig," said Harry blearily, trying to rub the sleep out his eyes. He knew it was Pig because no other bird flew that badly.  
  
Harry took the letter and ushered Pig into Hedwig's empty cage, Hedwig was Harry's own owl and was far more experienced at deliveries. Harry, having turned to look at his letters noticed that one bore the Hogwarts emblem whilst the other was clearly written in his friend Ron's own hand. Harry hurriedly opened this letter, hoping to postpone the gut-wrenching feeling of receiving exam results.  
  
Hi Harry,  
Dumbledore had your results sent to us, I suppose he expected you to be here by now. Mum's surprisingly pleased with my results, I got 7 O.W.L.s, only two fails (potions and History of Magic), I even passed divination. At least I don't have to suffer Snape anymore. Good luck on your results, mate.  
You probably know that everyone wants Fudge gone, I don't know, are you getting the Prophet? So the big push is on to see who gets the top spot. The big surprise is that Dad's a possible candidate. Dumbledore's backing him so he's got quite a strong following. I should probably stop writing; Pig will die carrying your results and a huge letter. See you soon, Ron.  
  
With increasing dread, Harry turned to his results. Prepared for the worst, he ripped open the envelope.  
  
Dear Mr Potter,  
We have recently received the results of your O.W.L.s. They are as followed:  
Astronomy-Average, Care of Magical Creatures-Exceeds Expectations, Charms-Outstanding, Defence Against the Dark Arts-Outstanding (with honours), Divination-Average, Herbology-Exceeds Expectations, History of Magic-Poor, Potions-Outstanding, Transfiguration-Exceeds Expectations.  
  
You will find enclosed, a booklist for the coming term and a personal note of congratulations from Professor Griselda Marchbanks. Professor M. McGonagall P.S. You may note that it is not necessary to buy books for any subjects which you do not wish to take.  
  
Harry looked away from his letter, stunned, shocked and delighted all in one emotion. He had earned his place in potions for his N.E.W.T.s, despite the fact that this meant two more years of torment from Snape, Harry's least favourite professor at Hogwarts, but it also meant that Harry's dream of being an auror was slightly more achievable. Overwhelmed with joy, Harry looked outside to see that the sky was becoming brighter. It had been July the thirty-first for 5 hours; Harry had been 16 years old for nearly 5 hours. As Harry looked into the vast, reddening sky, he noticed the outlines of three birds growing larger and larger. Harry recognised one of the birds as his own owl, Hedwig, and noticed that one of the others was the Weasley family owl, Errol, who was looking more feeble than Harry had had ever seen him. Harry suspected that the third owl, which was a young barn owl, was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid. However, as he drew close, Harry noticed that the writing on the parcel belonged to Ron. A second parcel, carried by Hedwig, bore Hermione's writing. Harry decided to open Hermione's present first, knowing that if it was a book, and knowing Hermione it more than likely would be, at least he would have Ron's present to cheer him up.  
  
Harry was sort of right, it wasn't one book, it was several books. Dismayed, Harry read the front cover: "Quidditch through the Ages". Harry's face shone so brightly it could have lit the Gryffindor common room. Harry opened the first page, a short message had been written: Harry, I hope you enjoy these books for years to come, Newt Scamander. Harry looked at the other books: "The Evolution of the Broom", "Strategy: A Basic Study of the Best Offensive and Defensive Moves in Quidditch" and "Foul Play: The Rules of Quidditch and Famous Accounts of When They Were Broken" all by Newt Scamander. Harry read a note which said: Happy birthday, Harry. I hope we see you soon. Love, Hermione. Harry noticed that it was written in insanely neat handwriting considering that it was on the tiniest scrap of paper he had ever seen. He then turned to Ron's letter, where he found out that the owl that had delivered the parcel was called Mercury. Harry assumed that Mercury belonged to Fred and George; and that Ron had either borrowed him or "borrowed" him. Harry opened Ron's parcel to find a huge box of Weasleys' Deflagration Deluxe and a small box of assorted treats from Honeydukes, thankfully there were no pieces of cockroach cluster. Just as Harry got up to go to the loo, he heard his uncle, Vernon, call his name.  
  
"Harry Potter, get down here now," he bellowed. Harry rushed downstairs, as the pain in his bladder steadily increased. Once downstairs, Vernon began a huge rant about how he mustn't touch anything while they tried to find a place where Dudley could take his exams. With a warning stare, Vernon left. Harry wasn't too excited about being on his own, he wasn't a great fan of Muggle entertainment, he'd much rather be on his broom. After relieving his bladder, he heard a knock at the door. He couldn't imagine who it would be; surely people would notice that the Dursleys' car had gone. He opened the door and was just about to explain that the Dursleys were out when he noticed that the man who had knocked was wearing a particularly worn pair of jeans and a pinstriped suit jacket. Harry quickly pulled the tall, balding man into the house.  
  
"Hi Mr Weasley," Harry said overjoyed that he was finally going leave his relatives again. "I'll just get my stuff." And within 10 minutes Harry was in Mr Weasley's brand new car. 


	2. Back at the Burrow Yet Again

Harry Potter and the Search for Redemption  
  
Chapter 2  
  
As Harry got into the car he noticed that his two best friends were waiting for him. As he got in, Hermione gave him a hug and Ron shook his hand. From outside, the car looked normal, but inside, it was more like a house on wheels.  
  
"How are you, mate?" Ron asked. He looked a lot stronger than he had last year, whereas he used to look gangly, he now looked like he could handle himself in a fight with Crabbe or Goyle, although he wasn't as fat as either of them.  
  
Hermione, unlike Ron, had noticed how much taller Harry was than he had been one month previously.  
  
"Harry, you're big," she said, smiling. The smile made her look even more attractive than normal. Harry had a sudden urge to kiss her, but he didn't act upon this simply because he knew how she would react. As quickly as this urge had come he realised that he didn't really want to kiss her, he didn't want to do anything that would affect their friendship. He also realised that this would affect the friendship between him and Ron as well, when he noticed that Ron and Hermione were holding hands. Harry cast around for a subject and, noticing a Chudley Cannons badge on Ron's t-shirt, started talking about Quidditch.  
  
Harry had forgotten how easy it was to talk to his two best friends; they had soon discussed a whole range of subjects including Voldemort and Harry's late godfather, Sirius. The journey to the Burrow seemed to take only a few seconds.  
  
Harry wasn't sure how he would be treated by the Weasleys. He didn't want to be fussed over since he preferred not to think about the fact that Sirius was dead, the only people to whom he felt mildly comfortable talking about it were Ron and Hermione. When Harry and the others reached the front door, Harry turned to speak to Mr Weasley when he saw something so terrible that it made him jar with fear. High above the Muggle village a bright green skull was hovering over a house and from that skull's mouth protruded a large, emerald snake.  
  
"Harry? What is it? Earth to Harry," said Mr Weasley jovially, he loved Muggle expressions. As he lined his eyes up with Harry's, his face suddenly became more serious and his chuckles abruptly died away, he was soon running and as he did so he called for his wife, Molly. As she ran out, she was followed by four young men, the men were called Fred, George, Bill and Percy and they were four of her six sons.  
  
"What's he doing back here?" Harry asked about Percy, with a hint of contempt. Harry would never trust Percy again after how he had behaved towards the Weasley family for the past year.  
  
"That bastard came crawling back when Fudge admitted he was wrong," Ron growled in a voice that was free of contempt, it was full of pure hatred. Clearly Ron and Harry both held Percy in extremely low regard.  
  
The trio of friends entered the small kitchen, where they were joined by Ron's younger sister, Ginny. Gathered around the large table, the four began to recite anecdotes of the previous month, or rather Hermione, Ron and Ginny recited anecdotes while Harry listened. Ginny was finishing off a rather colourful story about Percy when Harry decided that he could finally say what the contents of the prophecy were to his friends. Unfortunately, the entire Weasley family, except Ginny and Ron, entered just as Ginny finished speaking.  
  
"Hi, Charlie. I didn't see you leave," Harry said.  
  
"You wouldn't have. I only just got back from visiting one of my friends when I saw the Dark Mark. I only had time to drop off my broom," explained Charlie in a slightly breathless voice.  
  
"Who were you visiting?" Ron asked his brother, while performing a certain rude hand gesture behind Percy's back.  
  
"Metella Cornix, if you must know," said Charlie with mild frustration.  
  
"Oh, so that's why you're out of breath," joked Ron.  
  
"We're just friends," Charlie blurted out, almost too quickly. "Besides, I left her ages ago; I've been in the village for the past half hour."  
  
Harry followed suit when Ginny, Ron and Hermione got up nearly an hour later. They reached the top of the stairs when Harry paused and cleared his throat.  
  
Harry's three friends listened intently as Harry explained and they soon were trying to give words of comfort, but these words were unnecessary. Harry had comes to terms with his fate, his conscience was not as important as the countless lives that would be saved by Harry if he defeated Voldemort. If Harry died then all hope was lost, for his friends, for his school, for the world.  
  
"But you said Neville could, can't he? Can't Neville kill him? Can't Neville kill Voldemort?"  
  
"Ron?" Harry asked strangely pleased. Ron had said the name that he had feared for 16 years.  
  
"Yeah, mate? Oh, that. I just was thinking one day and suddenly I realised that there isn't anything to fear. You know? Well maybe you don't, you've never feared anything." Ron said, almost looking ashamed of himself.  
  
"I've been scared loads of times, when you and Hermione nearly died I was so scared that I'd lose both of you. You two and Ginny are some of the only real friends I've ever had. I couldn't stand if any of you died." Harry felt a lump in his throat and a tear in his eye, since he had met Sirius two years previously he had felt like that. Knowing that they, above anyone else, meant the world to him had been the only thing that kept him sane over the last year and when Sirius had died it was like Harry's heart had been ripped up through his mouth. Stop it Harry you're turning into a pussy, he thought.  
  
"I might just go to bed," Ron said, "Are you tired, Hermione?"  
  
"No, not really," Hermione replied.  
  
"Come with me then," Ron said, with pleading eyes.  
  
Hermione gave a small smile and followed Ron up the stairs; Harry smiled as Ginny walked into her room.  
  
"You can come in with me if you like," Ginny said, with a smile, "not like them, just to talk," she quickly added when Harry looked at her slightly alarmed.  
  
When Hermione and Ron returned just over an hour later Ron was putting something in his pocket and mumbling something that sounded like "Stupid Muggle way, might as well be a plastic bag." Hermione turned round, gave him a small kiss and whispered something in his ear which made him cheer up extremely quickly; no doubt it was something rather rude.  
  
"Well, I can't wait to get back to school," was Ron's reply to whatever Hermione had said. "Well, I'm going to turn in for the night. Quidditch tomorrow, anyone?"  
  
"Yeah, alright, my Firebolt is in my trunk. Ginny?"  
  
"Okay, we don't have a snitch though so you'll have to be a chaser." Ginny replied.  
  
Hermione looked highly affronted. "What about me? Maybe I want to play Quidditch as well."  
  
"But you hate Quidditch."  
  
"What on Earth gave you that impression?"  
  
"You said so," Harry replied as though it was obvious, which, lets be fair, it was.  
  
"I just changed my mind, that's all." As she spoke it was clear that she was attempting to stifle yawns. With a hug to Harry and a passionate kiss to Ron, Hermione said goodnight and, with surprising force for such a small young woman, pushed both Harry and Ron out of the door. With what seemed to be the blink of an eye, Harry was lying in bed and drifting in to an unsteady sleep.  
  
A/N: If things seemed to come out of the blue that's because I was writing the story as I went along. To Ianua, who's probably going to be the only person to read this, remember the name Metella from anywhere? 


End file.
